Brian is a non-resident missionary (NRM) to Africa. Alongside his Zambian friend Iwell, Brian has seen over 50,000 baptisms in the past four years. I recently sat down with him to hear the story of what God has been doing.

In my 20 years of missions experience, I have read many books and engaged in my fair share of fiery discussions on the role of women in the home, church, and missions. This has been a hot topic for decades with a wide spectrum of beliefs even among Bible-believing Christians. But for me, it’s more than a controversial debate; how I and my leaders view the role of women has greatly influenced my Gospel work among the unreached. My ministry effectiveness has been greater due to leaders who value and support the unique contribution that women make in missions.

Over the past decade of ministry, I’ve never met a pastor who lacks the desire for their congregation to function more like the early church we see in Scripture. This longing for a biblically functioning church is often the driving force behind establishing small group ministries.

The Gospel spreads like wildfire, igniting hearts and transforming communities. Church-planting movements embody this Spirit-led dynamism, bringing the Gospel rapidly and broadly to a generation. Yet the long-term health of these movements depends on something deeper: roots.

This post explores how sending churches and sending agencies complement church-planting movements, drawing lessons from Scripture and church history to envision a fruitful partnership between these vital expressions of God’s mission.

What’s the ideal size for a group of believers given what God wants to accomplish through it for His glory?

Any movement of new disciples and multiplying churches is a work of God. But we can and should seek both best and biblical practices as we pursue those movements. 

The main focus of “The Starfish and the Spider” is decentralization versus centralization.

During one of my rants, a friend asked a simple question that stopped me in my tracks: “What should the church look like?” I didn’t have an answer. How could I be so confident about the problems without knowing a positive alternative?

Without prayer, there simply is no movement of God among any person or any place. Prayer is the greater catalytic work in movements just as blood is the fluid of life in the human body. It flows through every part of the miracle of reproducing disciples and churches.

Submitting to God’s Word and Spirit, God’s people become a church seeking to fulfill all God's commands in a covenantal and confessional relationship. These churches, over time, seek to make more disciples of Jesus and become healthy churches that continue to make and multiply disciples.

In the west, we are driven to radical individualism more and more. We are told that a reliance on one another is a weakness, so we pursue community only through play dates and occasional poker nights as long as they don’t overlap with our family life and what we would like to accomplish.